It’s no secret that many of the struggles of John Calipari’s current Kentucky squad can be traced to a lack of experience, even by his normal standard of freshman-centric squads.

Will Calipari change the way he builds his roster to avoid a similar situation in the future? Two possible rule changes may force his hand.

On Tuesday, the NCAA announced its Division I Transfer Working Group would spend the next several months considering proposals for significant change to current transfer rules. The group is not considering immediate eligibility for all transfers, as was recently rumored, but one of the proposals on the table would allow players meeting certain academic standards (likely a 3.0 GPA and being on track to graduate within five years) to transfer once without sitting out a year. Another proposal would allow players who signed a National Letter of Intent to transfer to another school without penalty if the head coach leaves the school after he or she signs.

Add in NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s public hints that the one-and-done rule could soon be abolished, especially in the wake of college basketball’s recruiting scandal, and it seems certain Calipari will have to change his roster-building strategy soon.

“I think Kentucky it’s just got such a culture for bringing in talent every year, I honestly don’t know how to get the veterans there,” said former UK player Isaac Humphries. “I was so lucky to have (upperclassmen) Alex (Poythress) and Derek (Willis) and Dom (Hawkins) throughout my time, and when Marcus Lee was there he helped me a lot as well. I think it’s just something that this team is lacking.”

Allowing players to declare for the NBA draft out of high school again would keep future recruits of the caliber of John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns from ever reaching Lexington, but part of the current team's trouble results from a lack of any freshmen in that tier of talent anyway.

Calipari has advocated for the NBA to adopt a rule similar to Major League Baseball's draft policy, allowing high school players to declare for the draft but requiring them to remain in school for multiple years if they go to college. That rule would fix his experience issue, but it’s no certainty the NBA or NCAA will make that change.

In the absence of a guarantee, players will remain in school for a certain number of years, Calipari must determine a way to better retain upperclassmen who aren’t sure-fire NBA draft prospects.

And changes to the transfer rule could have significant ramifications in that quest.

Michigan guard Charles Matthews, who is averaging 13.9 points per game and shooting 34.7 percent from 3-point range for the Wolverines, would be a junior on this team had he not transferred after averaging 10.4 minutes per game in his freshman season at UK. Humphries and Isaiah Briscoe would also be juniors on this team instead of playing in Australia and Estonia, respectively, had they not declared for the draft last spring despite not being considered likely draft picks.

“Whatever happens in this as we go forward, Kentucky eats first,” Calipari said in June after Silver first hinted changes could come for the one-and-done rule. “I’m not saying that to be arrogant. You know it. So however they play this, it isn’t me talking about, well, this is what would be best for Kentucky, for my program, or let these kids get out of here so I don’t have to coach against them. My concerns are the kids.”

If Calipari holds to his oft-repeated players-first focus, he’ll make that same argument for reducing transfer restrictions.

“If the principle is that these are students that just happen to be athletes and these are students to be treated like any other student, then what moral authority is there to say, ‘No, you have to have the equivalent of a non-compete and you’re going to be treated like an employee’?” ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said.

But would Kentucky actually “eat first” if transfer restrictions are lifted?

Calipari has expressed disdain for the graduate transfer market, which already allows athletes to play immediately at a new school, but he seemed willing enough to recruit North Carolina guard Cam Johnson as a graduate transfer from Pittsburgh when it became apparent he needed experience and shooting last spring. So maybe he would embrace the pursuit of veterans in good academic standing looking to play at a blue-blood program.

It’s just as likely, though, changes to the transfer rule would lead to more departures from players down the bench as freshmen and sophomores at UK who might otherwise have developed into future veteran contributors like Josh Harrellson, Dominique Hawkins and Derek Willis.

The NCAA announced the goal is for a transfer rule proposal to be voted on by the Division I Council in June so it could be considered in the current legislative cycle, but it is unclear when any rule change would go into effect.

Calipari recently dismissed criticism of his staff’s recruiting after several high-profile misses in the 2018 class, suggesting any current issues with a dip in talent or lack of experience are flukes, not worrisome trends.

For the immediate future, the best hope for avoiding the current team’s absence of veterans next year is having several freshmen decide to return to school. But whenever transfer rules changes are adopted — the NCAA said in its Tuesday announcement maintaining the status quo is not an option — Calipari will face more uncertainty about his roster each year.